


Stage One

by cdenzelj



Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:54:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28187226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cdenzelj/pseuds/cdenzelj
Summary: Nick is coming to terms with the loss of Warrick and exploring his own mentality. Natalie is a fellow empath who wants to help him open up to others. Explicit for smut.
Relationships: Nick Stokes/OFC
Kudos: 3





	Stage One

“You seem like you’re hurting a little bit. Mentally.”

“Do I?” said Nick. “Nothing to do with being sucker-punched earlier?”

She shrugged. “If it makes you feel any better, part of the reason I came out this way is to take a break myself.”

“Really? Stressed out?”

“Well, it’s nice to step back and take a breather for a day or two.”

“Hmm.” The pair stepped out onto the strip, well after everyone else had left the venue. While her eye was drawn in nearly every direction, Nick was unfazed by the myriad of lights and colors that seemed to create their own heat.

“It’s insanely bright around here,” she said with a light chuckle. “And warm. How you can tell day from night is beyond me.”

“Well, for starters, it’s like… fifty degrees,” he said, pulling his leather jacket over his shoulders.

She rolled her eyes. “Figure of speech.”

“Gotta be kind of similar in California. How are you not freezing?”

She took his proffered arm and walked with him down the street. “I actually Manitoban. Average yearly temperature of my hometown is two degrees.”

“Two?!”

“Oh uh… about thirty-six.”

“Oh. Still, though. I was trying to place your accent in there.”

“Were you close?”

“I had midwestern. Thinking Michigan.”

“Well, close enough.”

“How long have you been in California?”

“Since I was sixteen.”

“You never got acclimated?”

“I don’t think you ever do. That’s why I work nights, it’s entirely too hot during the day. Now,” she said, nudging him in the ribs. “What hurt you? Girlfriend break up with you? Got demoted?”

He scoffed. “No, I’m fantastic at my job and I’m too much of a geek to worry about girls too much. Kind of married to my work.”

“Aw, that’s a shame,” she purred in a teasing tone. “You have a mirror, right?”

He smiled warmly, putting his other hand on his chest. “I’m flattered. No, I uh…” His tone changed. “I lost my best friend a few months ago. He was like a brother to me. It kind of affected my whole team.” He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to figure out why he felt okay with sharing with her. “Usually, they’d join me at these conferences, but everyone’s kind of coping with it their own way. I think everyone kind of wants to be alone to deal with things.”

“I’m sorry.” Nick nodded lowly. “Can I ask how?” His skin bristled painfully as an icy chill raced down his spine. She seemed to be in tune with him, as she tightened her fingers on his sleeve. “You don’t have to, I was just curious. I don’t mean to—“

“No, no,” he replied. _First step’s facing it, dude. Say it…_ “It’s okay. Um… It’s a long story, but it has to do with a corruption scandal that was infecting the whole police department. He was caught in an alley by the undersheriff who uh… shot him. Here,” he said, tapping his fingers on the arteries in his neck. He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud just yet. Nick swallowed hard, trying to keep the pain of grief out of his tone.

“My God,” she whispered. Nick felt a familiar tightness in his throat that he knew he had to control now before it took over. Natalie sensed it and softly stroked her fingers down his wrist and palm. The simple action relayed the message that she genuinely felt and cared about his feelings, even the ones he didn’t express. “So… I get the feeling you came out here because you don’t want to be alone.”

“It’s not right, dealing with things alone. Humans aren’t meant to cope with things like that. But if no one else is ready, what can I do? I don’t even know if I’m ready.”

“Hey, that’s okay,” she said. “You may not be ready to deal with the grief, but you’re right; the first step in processing things is to be around other people. We don’t have to talk about it any more, but if you need some company, I’m free for a couple days. And I _love_ to talk.”

He tipped his head. “I don’t want to talk about sad stuff anymore, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course.”

“You ever been to Vegas?”

“Once, just passing through back in… ’99.”

“Remember anything you liked?”

She laughed. “Not when you’re sixteen, alone, and broke.” He looked at her with wide eyes, but she tipped her head. “I won’t go into details about that, either.” _How’d you end up so far from home, so young, and by yourself?_

“That’s fair.”

“I liked the fountains. So I put myself up at the Bellagio. Penthouse.”

“Got expensive taste, huh?”

“Not usually. But I think the best way to deal with stress is to take care of yourself sometimes. Pamper yourself. Also, it’s like… a block away.”

“Ah.”

“You don’t treat yourself?”

“Not to twelve-hundred dollar a night hotel rooms.”

“Why not?”

He laughed. “If I was spending that much on a room for the night, I would not be spending the night alone.”

“Fair enough.”

“That’s a good philosophy, though,” he said. “Gotta figure out the things that make you happy and go for it.”

“You know what I _love_ about these rooms is the million-thread count sheets and jetted tubs.”

Nick chuckled. “Yeah?”

“You can fit eight people in that thing!” she exclaimed, gesturing skyward. “Twelve people in the bed!”

“That’d be… ambitious.”

“I know for sure.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. “What do you do around here to pamper yourself?”

“When I’m stressed, I either hit the tables or spend some time paragliding.”

“Mmm, relaxing.”

“Hey, you asked.”

“I mean something that doesn’t involve the risk of death by slamming into rocks or spending a couple hundred for the honor of playing a game.”

“You paid in one night what a lot of people pay for rent, and you aren’t even _with_ anyone.”

“To _relax._ And I got three nights.”

“Holy shit.”

“It’s not a vacation if it’s only one night!”

“Three nights alone isn’t really either.”

“Not really alone!”

He scoffed. “What the hell do you have going _on_ in your room? You know how many people can fit—“

“The neighbors are a bunch of ecstasy-junkie, orgie-having hippies, and I was curious! So I checked in to see what they were doing. They asked me if I wanted to join, but I’m not that coordinated.”

“That doesn’t sound dangerous? Wandering into a hotel room full of who-knows-what? And you think parasailing is dangerous?”

She laughed. “I know how to fight, for one, and for two, I don’t think a bunch of people high on pot and ecstasy are causing any kind of trouble.”

Nick shook his head. “Soo… the people in the penthouse across the hall—“

“About a dozen people high as fuck, body paint, sex toys, ribbons, glitter, the whole deal. Yup. Not gonna lie, looked like a ton of fun, but there’s just… too much going on.”

“Wow,” he chuckled. _Oh for fuck’s sake, change the subject before she gets clued in on your… interest…_ “Back to the conversation at hand… Umm… I like going to the barber. At one of the resorts.”

“Mmm, you seem kind of shy about that. How come?”

He shrugged. “I just realized I may have said too much.”

“You’re more shy than I am.”

“I think _everyone_ is.”

She swayed her hips into him. “Oh c’mon, I give you expensive hotel sheets and you can’t tell me why you like salons? Is it the aromatherapy? The nice towels?”

He blushed a bit, a reddish shade flooding the shell of his ears. “I kinda like it when other… people—“

“—Women.”

“Yes… wash my hair,” he muttered. He half expected her to laugh, but he was nicely surprised that she didn’t. Natalie hummed, tipping her head back. “I like… feeling nails… Nevermind,” he blushed, mindlessly raking his hand through his short hair.

Natalie watched him with a sidelong glance. “Women’s nails through your hair?” He nodded lowly. “Your scalp?”

“Back of my head,” he muttered, doing the same.

“Touch is my love language, too,” she said.

“Whoa, I didn’t say anything about—!”

“Relax!” she laughed. “No need to be shy, and I’m not suggesting you’re a pervert or anything; some people are just soothed by certain kinds of touch. Some people like it when others show affection with presents or favors or quality time, some people like being touched a certain way. I gotcha. And look, you’ll likely never see me again, who am I gonna tell your secret to that’s gonna care?” The corner of his mouth turned down in a bitter acquiescence. “Exactly.”

“If you keep making me feel exposed like this, I expect the same in return,” he stated bluntly. She seemed a bit surprised, but agreed. “Okay, now what’s your physical thing?”

“When whoever I’m with lays on me with his whole weight. Not in a sexual sense but just… like a big teddy bear, stretching out and relaxing onto me so I can rub on his back. Makes me feel safe and protected, and really powerful knowing he can let his guard down around me. It’s even better when… he’s tired or upset or had a long day and I’m the one he comes to for comfort.”

“That’s how you separate casual relationships from the serious ones?”

“Good guess.”

“Not a guess. My way is letting her wash my hair when we shower together. Something that’s just for us. I don’t get that too often… or at all… so the next best thing is the barber. That way I can at least pretend.”

“That’s perfectly reasonable.”

Nick sighed deeply, relaxation settling in his shoulders. “I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone that. Feels… I dunno.”

“You don’t usually talk to strangers about intimate things?”

“Usually? _Never_. I dunno if it’s ‘cuz I know you’re leaving Monday, or what… but I feel like I can trust you.”

“It’s mutual. I like this kind of trade-off thing,” she said, gesturing between them. “You’re very honest.”

“You too. And I think I like you better knowing your language isn’t about favors of things, ‘cuz I get that a lot.”

“How so?”

“When a girl asks me what kind of car I drive, or how many people I’m in charge of, but she doesn’t ask more about what I _do_ or how certain cases make me _feel_ , how things affect me… that’s usually where I stop.”

“This isn’t a girl you want to wash your hair.”

He chuckled heartily. “No, you’re right. I just don’t want to be used.”

“I can understand that. You should know girls aren’t expecting men to be okay with feeling vulnerable, though, so they won’t usually ask about your feelings.”

“In all fairness, I don’t like talking about feelings anyway. Now, what about hotel sheets makes you wanna spend over a thousand a night?”

She shook her head vigorously. “Nope, can’t tell you that.”

“Oh come on!” he exclaimed. “You got me to spill about love language! Like that’s not kind of embarrassing for me.”

“Fine, umm…” she said, lowering her voice so only he could hear. “I like to… strip down naked and bury myself in ‘em.” Nick grinned, trying to ignore the fact that the image had his blood rushing elsewhere. “That nice, cool, satiny feeling on my skin, everywhere all at once. Knowing they get washed after every time, knowing I don’t have to do it, how they feel new every time. Which is why I get the room alone. Everyone tries to tell me how weird that is, or how the sheets aren’t as clean as I think, how we’ve all seen what they look like with Luminol and a blacklight.”

“As if we don’t deal with worse things on a daily basis?”

“I’m willing to risk it,” she agreed.

“Well, I can’t say that’s too weird,” said Nick, hoping to ease her discomfort. She met his gaze. “Can’t say I’ve ever done it, though.”

“Well, that’s a shame you’re so practical.”

They approached a cozy-looking bar with neon that lit up the windows. Another couple walked out, the sound of country music following through the door. “George Strait,” they said in unison.

Nick’s eyes softened and he stopped walking. “Care for a drink or two before you go back? I’m thinking I still want company.”

Natalie smiled, the light of it glowing in her eyes. “I’d love to.”

By one in the morning, they were both dizzy from dancing and whiskey sours. Nick walked her to her hotel room at the top floor of the Bellagio. “I can’t believe you’ve never stayed here,” she laughed, her speech lightly slurred.

“Again, I have a house, why would I?” he said, trying to shake the fuzziness from his head. “Also, with… with all the murders in all the hotels… kind of makes you want to… to um… It’s hard not to think about the cases every time you walk in the door.”

Natalie chuckled. “Then you’re not experiencing the city the way it was meant to be. Besides,” she whispered, stopping him in the hall as a couple young women walked by, giggling dressed in string bikinis and body glitter. “Does your bedroom have a giant-ass jetted tub in it? Or a bed you can play soccer on?”

His eyes lit up as his blood rushed from his head. “Nnn-ope.” _But it has my bed… And I want my bed to smell like you…_

She smiled widely, grabbing a handful of his shirt and pulling him flush against her body. He stumbled a little, planting his hand on the door behind her to steady himself. She giggled, stepping out of her shoes. He realized he was quite a bit larger than her as she stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his shoulders. _Dominate her…_

Nick shuddered as he felt her lips brush his ear, her warm breath nearly bringing him to his knees. “Do _you_ have crisp… cool… million-thread count sheets on your bed, Nick?” she purred, slipping her hand under his shirt, her feather-light touch tracing the contours of his muscles. Somehow, she knew just how he needed to be touched; just light enough to ignite his senses and just hard enough to remind him of his fresh bruises. His response was little more than a low, throaty groan as he mindlessly rolled his hips into her. “Sheets so soft you just want to bury yourself in them? Feel it on every. Inch. Of your body?” His skin pebbled as a rush of hormones took over his system.

“There’s no sexy girl in my bed, either.” He threaded his fingers in her hair, tipped her head back, and kissed her deeply, effectively pinning her against the door. “But I can have one in there in ten seconds.” She kissed him back, equally hungry and passionate as she melted in his arms.

Nick felt as though he was alight with sparks, the sharp sensation of electricity radiating from his chest and down his arms, clearing away all the drunken haze. _That’s new…_ His mind was branded with her taste, the mixed scent of their breath filling his lungs, and the coupled sensation of her hand on his skin and teeth on his bottom lip.

“Bed,” he rumbled lowly just as she clicked the door open with her key card.

She nodded, pulling him inside while he kicked the door shut behind them. Being cut off from prying eyes incensed them, and Nick fully allowed himself to be consumed by the heat of it all. Natalie moved her hips against him, pressing her thigh between his legs as he was herded against the wall. “You’re burning up, Tex.”

Nick nodded as her tongue explored his mouth, tracing his lips and robbing him of any coherent thought. She stroked her leg against his already aching groin, earning a low moan from him. He tipped his head back, in desperate need of breath while her deft fingers made quick work of his shirt. “Little rough, are ya?”

“Hope that’s okay,”she said, pulling his shirt down his arms.

“Long as you can take what you dish out.”

She smiled, tugging his belt through the loops of his pants. “Oh, Honey, I’m gonna have fun with you.”

She kissed him hard as his hands found the zipper on her dress and quickly stripped her out of it. “Holy fuck,” he whispered, completely in awe of her as her clothes hit the floor. He backed off a foot or two to drink her in.

“What?” giggled Natalie, tucking her tousled hair behind her ear. “You mist see lots of pretty girls.”

“Well sure, but…” He watched her, balanced neatly on her toes, her movements accentuated her long legs and flaring hips. Dressed in a matching set of black lace panties and his belt tossed over her shoulder, her velvety soft skin seemed to glow in the low light. Her amble breasts cast light shadows on her fit, toned stomach.

Without another word, he picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and toted her off to the bedroom. The alcohol was finally beginning to clear from his head, making him increasingly aware of his frustrated member.

Nick half-tossed her on the bed and stood at her feet, hands smoothly working open his fly. Natalie smiled warmly, encouragingly as he dragged his pants down around his hips. “You tease.” He smiled wickedly, his pupils wide open to her. “How do you want me?” she asked in the sexiest of tones as she nipped on her thumb nail.

He became even more acutely aware of the animalistic lust singing in his veins as he stepped out of his pants and boxer briefs, freeing his turgid length. Her eyes widened as he sighed a deep breath of relief.

“Any way I can,” he growled. She got to her knees and palmed his hot girth, making him purr through his teeth. She admired him; from the trail of dark hair under his navel to the thick veins standing out against his soft skin.

With her free hand, she unclasped her bra and tossed it on the floor with the rest of his clothes. He closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath as she trailed biting kisses up his body, tracing her own body with his manhood.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, letting his hands fall on her perfect breasts. He focused the on resisting the urge to take her as rough and hard as he could. _She’s quite a bit smaller than you. You don’t need to rush…_ he repeated in his head, trying to calm his racing heart. “But _God_ , you’ve got me so hard…”

She chuckled, raking her teeth just under his ear. His cock twitched, making his stomach muscles flex. _Not enough blood to go around, Bud…_ “I want you to.”

He huffed, shoving her back on the bed. He was on her in a flash, tugging off her panties with one hand and fisting his other in her hair while he hungrily delved his tongue in her mouth. _You’re not coming back from this…_ With his free hand, he reached between their bodies and stroked her freshly-shaven mound. She mewled, arching her back as his touch shifted lower, deft fingers scissoring through her frothing slick folds. “Fuck, you’re so wet.” Wanting only to hear her, he stifled his low growls with his mouth on her nipple, worrying the tender nub with his teeth.

She rolled her hips against his palm, thrusting herself on his large fingers. His heart skipped a beat, his mind completely taken over with how tight she was. He swirled his tongue around her pebbling flesh, sucking harshly as he curled his fingers upward inside her, all while gingerly rubbing her slick clit.

“Nick!” Natalie whined, turning her head to sink her bite on his wrist.

“So impatient,” he purred,

 _Hey, you don’t have condoms…_ He stilled suddenly, nipping harshly on her bottom lip. “Protection?” he managed to breathe.

“Pills,” she panted, pointing to a small plastic box on the nightstand. He looked back at her, smiling warmly. “You can count ‘em if—“

“No, it’s just…” he said, nudging her legs apart with his knee. “Never… never gone without.”

She smirked wickedly, getting her legs under his hips and flipping him on his back. He dropped his hands on the bed, stretching his torso, showing off the musculature of his chest and arms.

She leaned over him, straddling his hips and teasing his thick shaft against her entrance. “Uuuungh.” Nick fisted his hands in the sheet, resisting the urge to thrust up into her.

“Trying to rein yourself in, Stud?”

He nodded, shifting up to his elbows. “Please. No more teasing. You can tease me later, just…” he whispered breathlessly. “Just ride me.”

Natalie put her hands on his body and sat back, slowly sheathing his manhood. Nick arched his back and groaned loudly, every muscle and fiber in his body flexing, the last of his control evaporating.

He became lost in a flood of sensations; her strangled cry as his invasion stretched and filled her against her body’s tight grip, her slick ridges stroking him even as he bottomed out, her fluids stimulating him. “Ohhh God, Baby… You’re so tight,” he moaned, his hands finding purchase on her hips.

She stilled, allowing herself to adjust to his size, while totally overcome herself. She rolled her hips, needing to feel him move inside her. He groaned, digging his fingers into her soft flesh, and bucked. “Yes! Nick!” she gasped, leaning back with her hands on his thighs.

They found a perfect rhythm of his upward thrusts and her grinding down on him. “Fuck…” he panted, fire searing in his veins while his grip locked on her, his body screamed with urgency. Her cries of pleasure drowned out his, leaving his ears ringing with the ecstatic sound of his name. He felt his climax building and coiling in his stomach. As he felt her walls twitch and tighten around him, he sat up, fisting her hair and adding his touch to her sensitive bud.

“God, YES!” she screamed at the ceiling. “Don’t stop!”

“Come with me,” he breathed, groaning as her nails raked his shoulders, her breasts bouncing against his chest. His legs writhed and his toes curled as he was filled with more pleasure than he’d ever had, more than he thought his body and heart could possibly handle. “Come for me, come for me!” he panted, careening for the edge.

Suddenly, his orgasm shot through him, and he came with a strangled cry, filling her with his release. White-hot, powerful spasms shook the breath from his lungs. At the same time, her climax took control of her, and she went limp in his arms, her fluids mingling with his and drenching him down his balls.

Nick took a mental inventory and decided he didn’t yet have the strength to stand, so he gingerly withdrew from her and fell back on the bed. “Fuck,” he sighed, holding her close to his chest. “That’s a game-changer for me.”

“You gonna remember me?” she purred, rubbing her legs on his.

“Oh yeah,” he said through a weak chuckle. “You’ve got to be murder to get over.”


End file.
